Veterinarian – Daytime Urgent & Emergency Care
Love the Unpredictability of Emergency Medicine? What If You Could Enjoy It Without the Overnight Shifts?
Vets of Geelong | Highton, Geelong, Victoria
Full-Time | Friday to Monday | 34 Hours Per Week | Three Consecutive Days Off
Salary from $120,000 + Superannuation + Sunday Bonus + Additional CPD Allowance
Not Every Vet Wants to Know What’s Coming Through the Door Next.
Some veterinarians love the predictability of a fully booked consulting schedule.
Others love the challenge of not knowing what’s coming through the door next.
The unexpected emergencies. The interesting medical cases. The patient that needs immediate attention. The satisfaction of thinking on your feet, working with your team and making a genuine difference when it matters.
If that sounds like you, we’d love to talk.
At Vets of Geelong, we’re looking for a veterinarian who enjoys urgent and emergency medicine to join our Highton hospital in a dedicated daytime role.
Four days on. Three consecutive days off. No overnight shifts.
You’ll work Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, helping us provide urgent and emergency veterinary care alongside our established general practice services.
You don’t need to have spent years working in a specialist emergency hospital.
We’re looking for someone with sound general practice experience, good clinical judgement, a calm approach and a genuine enthusiasm for managing whatever comes through the door.
A Different Kind of Veterinary Position
This role is designed for a veterinarian who enjoys variety, clinical problem-solving and the challenge of urgent presentations.
Your caseload may include:
- Acute medical presentations and emergency triage
- Stabilisation of critically unwell patients
- Wounds, trauma and urgent surgical cases
- Gastrointestinal emergencies and acute abdominal presentations
- Respiratory distress and cardiovascular emergencies
- Toxicities and other time-sensitive presentations
- Diagnostic imaging and emergency laboratory investigations
- Hospitalised patient management and ongoing case assessment
- Routine general practice cases when urgent care demand allows
Some days will be busy and unpredictable.
Other days will involve a mixture of urgent presentations, general practice medicine and supporting colleagues with challenging cases.
We’re looking for someone who enjoys that variety rather than needing every day to follow a fixed schedule.
Four Days On. Three Days Off.
One of the biggest attractions of this role is the working pattern.
Your regular roster will be:
- Friday: 9 rostered hours
- Saturday: 8 rostered hours
- Sunday: 8 rostered hours
- Monday: 9 rostered hours
- Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday: Off
That’s 34 rostered hours across four working days, followed by three consecutive days away from the clinic.
There are no routine overnight shifts or overnight on-call requirements.
You’ll also receive additional remuneration for Sunday work.
We recognise that emergency medicine can be demanding. We want the working arrangement to be sustainable and to provide genuine time to recover and enjoy life outside the clinic.
Great Medicine, Backed by Great Support
You’ll be based at our Highton hospital, the largest of our four veterinary clinics.
You’ll work alongside experienced veterinarians, skilled veterinary nurses and an established support team.
Our clinical facilities include:
- Digital radiography and diagnostic ultrasound
- In-house IDEXX laboratory diagnostics
- IDEXX blood gas analysis
- Modern anaesthetic monitoring and surgical equipment
- Hospitalisation and patient monitoring facilities
- Access to additional diagnostic and surgical resources across our group
You’ll also have access to our established Veterinary Standards of Care and dedicated clinical app, supporting consistent clinical decision-making and patient care.
While you’ll have responsibility for managing your own cases, you’ll be part of a collaborative veterinary group where colleagues can discuss cases and support one another.
The Right Attitude Matters More Than an Emergency Hospital CV
We’re particularly interested in veterinarians who have approximately two to four years of clinical experience, although we’d welcome conversations with more experienced applicants.
You might be a confident general practice veterinarian who finds the urgent cases are the most interesting part of your day.
You might already have some emergency experience and be looking for a daytime position that offers a more sustainable lifestyle.
Or perhaps you’re considering further study or Membership examinations in Emergency and Critical Care.
Whatever your background, we’re looking for someone who:
- Enjoys urgent and emergency presentations
- Remains calm and practical when priorities change
- Can triage patients and make sound clinical decisions
- Has confidence in general practice medicine and developing emergency skills
- Communicates clearly with clients and colleagues
- Is comfortable asking for help and collaborating with the team
- Enjoys a busy, varied clinical environment
- Is motivated to continue learning
You don’t need to know everything. You do need to enjoy learning, thinking on your feet and working as part of a team.
Professional Development and Clinical Growth
We want this position to be an opportunity to develop your emergency and critical care capabilities.
You’ll have access to experienced colleagues, clinical support and ongoing professional development opportunities.
Our dedicated CPD allowance is paid fortnightly in addition to your salary, allowing flexibility in how you invest in your professional development.
We’re particularly supportive of veterinarians interested in further study or Membership examinations in Emergency and Critical Care.
You’ll have the opportunity to develop your confidence in emergency diagnostics, stabilisation, clinical decision-making and the management of urgent presentations.
Remuneration That Recognises Your Contribution
Our remuneration package includes:
- Salary from $120,000 per annum + superannuation
- Additional Sunday remuneration
- Separate CPD allowance paid fortnightly in addition to salary
- Higher remuneration negotiable based on experience and capabilities
- Access to ongoing clinical support and professional development
We recognise that emergency work requires adaptability, clinical judgement and a particular temperament.
We’re looking for the right person and are happy to discuss remuneration according to experience and capability.
A Little About Us
Vets of Geelong is a proudly family-owned veterinary group operated by veterinarians Dr James and Dr Jane Tiernan.
Our four clinics are located in Highton, Geelong West, Lara and East Geelong.
Both James and Jane have worked in emergency veterinary clinics in Australia and overseas, so we understand firsthand the challenges, rewards and demands of emergency medicine.
We also recognise that emergency medicine isn’t for everyone.
And that’s perfectly okay.
It takes a particular type of veterinarian to enjoy the unpredictability, the changing priorities and the occasional controlled chaos that comes with urgent and emergency cases.
We’re looking for someone who embraces that environment, stays composed when things become busy and enjoys the satisfaction of helping patients and colleagues when they’re needed most.
Our values are simple:
Kindness. Trust. Teamwork.
We want to create a workplace where our team can practise excellent veterinary medicine, support one another and enjoy the profession they’ve chosen.
Interested? Let’s Have a Conversation.
If you’re a veterinarian who enjoys urgent cases, interesting clinical challenges and the idea of working four days followed by three consecutive days off, we’d love to hear from you.
You don’t need an elaborate cover letter or an introductory video.
Send us your CV or simply get in touch for an informal, confidential conversation.
Email: jo**@***************om.au
Phone: (03) 5243 0077 (ask for Diane)
Website: www.vetsofgeelong.com.au
Come and meet our team, explore our Highton hospital and discover whether this might be the opportunity you’ve been looking for.
Vets of Geelong. Great medicine. Great people. A different kind of working week.